SEED Academy of Performing Arts
by rayningnight
Summary: AU/ Lacus didn't believe the praise upon her singing. Stella would never have danced in front of a crowd. Cagalli didn't know she could act. Now, when these three best friends unintentionally enroll into SEED Academy, what will become of them? LxK SxS CxA
1. Accidentally Enrolled

_**Summary: **__AU/ Lacus didn't believe the praise on her singing. Stella would never have danced in front of a crowd. Cagalli didn't know she could act. Now, when these three best friends unintentionally enroll into SEED Academy, what will become of them? LxK SxS CxA_

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED and/or Gundam SEED Destiny. All credit belongs to SUNRISE Inc. and director Mitsuo Fukuda.

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**Track 01:**_** Accidentally Enrolled**_

* * *

Lacus remembered it had been an incredibly sunny, springtime afternoon on the eventful day _it_ happened.

Brilliant daylight had miraculously shone through the soft, listless white clouds and rested its fantastically warm fingertips upon the Clyne's manicured green gardens, gently fondling the well-attended flowerbeds from Lacus's clear inner view from the glasshouse approximately three yards away.

The in-bloom cherry blossom trees were sprinkling the rays of bright sunshine filtering through the shell-pink petals and thin brown branches, creating intricately playful shadows to dance along the blades of grass to Lacus's delight.

Her sun-kissed shoulders amazingly weren't burning from the scorching sunbeams and somehow remained its alabaster hue. However as the dreadfully hot day waned, the pink-haired heiress internally decided she would much rather leave the sweet-smelling, transparent conservatory before she caught a blistering sunburn.

On that note, she had fashioned a minor meet up with her best friends some days ago, and truly needed to prepare.

Lacus sighed softly, a tad dejected with the mere thought of leaving the beautiful scenery and wonderful light scent of sakura blossom commingled with the close-by, white-and-red roses. Nonetheless, she did not fail to unleash her gentle smile as she decisively turned to her father, silently placing her hands daintily onto her lap as she finished her late-morning tea.

"Father, may I please go over to Cagalli's? I was hoping to pick up the novel I lent her last weekend," Lacus paused, "I was also hoping to visit the downtown mall with Stella and her as well." Lacus smiled hopefully up at her father, her pale-blue pools shining with open anticipation.

Siegel Clyne affably eyed his only daughter over the rim of his porcelain teacup with a quirked, blonde brow and a tender smile on his lips as he sipped his afternoon Earl Grey. After what seemed to be a long pause, the older man nodded in approval.

"Alright Lacus dear, but be sure to return home early – before eight at the latest." Siegel laughed heartily as he recollected the time she had come home at simply ten-after. Lacus politely giggled within her raised hand as she also recalled the small incident.

She absently tilted her head to the side with a well-meaning smile, remembering her whispered "I'm back" at that time to only find her father on his personal cellphone, shouting out with utter panic about specific details on her appearance so they could find his precious 'kidnapped' daughter.

How the elder Clyne got to that conclusion was beyond Lacus, even to this day.

The pink-haired girl barely muffled her laughs as she smiled sunnily once more before respectfully excusing herself from the white-clothed table covered in half-eaten finger sandwiches and tea cookies.

Lacus idly glanced over her bare shoulder as she made her way out of the glass garden, seeing her father refilling his lukewarm tea as he absently perused the local newspaper, one leg crossed on top of his knee. It was sort of comical, seeing the moustached man in his light-brown business suit surrounded by roses and romantic flowers of the like with a tea-set on the European table in front of him.

Siegel raised an eyebrow at the retreating, non-stop giggling figure of his daughter as she left the small and stimulating conservatory, but thought none of it as he caught an interesting headline in his daily paper.

Once Lacus had gracefully promenaded past the many Victorian-styled hallways in the Clyne Mansion and entered the entrance's foyer, she quickly swapped her indoor white flats for her outdoor ones, which were laced with a waterproofed material.

She hummed a cheerful tune as she cordially slipped on her especial maroon mantle and unthinkingly pulled up the large fur-trimmed hood, in case of a dangerous stranger strolling in on her. Of course, the hood presented pseudo fur, fake but realistic in a fashionable appearance. Lacus frowned upon the brutal killing of innocent animals for merely their soft hairs.

Truly, who in their right of mind would mindlessly slaughter for that?

Lacus automatically clutched her preferred white purse, knowing that it would match her favorite attire: a white overcoat dress with a tall, rounded collar and layers of purple under-sheets. Instead of normal sleeves, the abnormal dress was accompanied with slip-on arm-sleeves of snow white and billowing violet so her pale shoulders were bare. Truly speaking, the modish dress was her utmost favourite because it was the only gift from her dear mother, along with the two golden crescent-clips that were in her wavy pink hair.

Instantly Lacus shook her head from her off-track thoughts, knowing exactly where _that_ mental path would have been leading.

Instead, she turned her grayish-blue gaze to the side, blinking in odd realization that she had already been silently escorted into the limousine by Sarah, the ever omnipresent, ginger-haired chaperone.

At that moment, her gaze was casted through the tinted window to view the spring outdoors, watching the large Clyne Mansion getting smaller and smaller as they drove closer to the Atha household approximately three, perhaps four blocks away.

Cagailli resided in the same upstate house area like Lacus because both their families were fairly wealthy and of great lineage, not that either of them abused their affluence like a few _other_ neighbours Lacus knew of, but did not care to mention.

In fact, Lacus and Cagalli had decided – together after meeting Stella – that they would hide their respected heredity and, in the end, simply registered into a nearby public school. All three of the girls _hated _the outrageous publicity, so they were quite glad to leave the spotlight and ever-present paparazzi.

As the black limo pulled up in front of the grand house, Lacus couldn't help but silently admire the simplicity of the Atha mansion as she gracefully stepped out of the vehicle.

Unlike the Clyne Mansion with its towering walls and elegant, voguish builds and windows, the Atha's chose a more _homey _feeling house, if that made sense. It wasn't too big nor was it small, with stacked logs and an under-part of beautifully cut stones used as the foundation. The high rooftop would have been simple: a typical triangle, but there were some rooms that jutted out from the top, with their own roof, making it look slightly intricate.

The home was built on one of the outrageously richest lands about, but somehow it reminded Lacus of a seaside, stone-build, family cabin (not that this was a bad thing) with its ever-present smoke rising from the tall, side-by-side chimneys and large, wooden veranda that stretched out towards the ocean. Oh, did Lacus forget to mention that the Atha's lived at the border of the area, and thus, lived on the beautiful seashore?

"Lacus!"

Before the pink-haired girl could register the melodious shout, she suddenly found herself glomped by a certain, short-haired blonde girl.

"Ara, ara?" Lacus blinked fitfully, just able to catch her.

Could this be? Cagalli would never publicly hug someone, no matter whom it was. So why – oh.

Glittering pink-hued eyes greeted Lacus's sky-blue orbs with unrepressed glee. "Stella was _so_ happy that you could finally come! Cagalli and Stella didn't know if you would make it or not," Stella pouted adorably as Lacus returned the hug awkwardly because of the uncomfortable position Stella placed her in.

A loud laugh was overheard at the front door and Stella's magenta, rose eyes twinkled curiously at the silhouette.

Cagalli had a hand on her hip, a smirk on her lips and a playful eyebrow rising as she greeted Lacus with a casual wave, "Didn't know you were a lesbo, Lala."

Almost immediately colour crept onto Lacus's pale cheeks as Stella suddenly released the red-faced woman. Cagalli wasn't able to stifle her snickering, not that she wanted to, as she wiped a non-existent tear from one of her golden eyes melodramatically.

"Oh this is priceless! The introvert Lala has finally shown emotion!" The jaggedly haired blonde cheered theatrically before she clutched her (notably) flat stomach to control her gregarious laughing fit.

Cagalli had donned a form-fitting, plain red t-shirt along with black fingerless gloves, a pair of brownish-gray cargo pants and steel-toed, black boots. Lacus failed to mention that the young Atha looked like she was going into a war zone or even the Sahara desert instead of the metropolis mall because of her slightly withdrawn nature.

Truly Cagalli needed a new sense of fashion – desperately – and at times like these, it saddened Lacus that she wasn't able to express her comments.

Though, even if she was as openly expressive as the Lady Atha, _this _time, she knew she wouldn't have been able to sputter a word about her tomboyish attire.

Instead, Lacus looked to the side with evident embarrassment from the frank blonde's previous comment. "I am _not _a homosexual, Cagalli… and please refrain from calling me Lala." Lacus didn't mind lesbians actually, some were actually nice (some were overly nice…) but over all, she didn't mind them. However, she knew didn't cheer for _that _team. It was simply – unthinkable.

Suddenly she felt (what she supposed was) a reassuring slap on her back, and she whirled her confused gaze onto the owner of the patting hand on her spine, finding golden eyes. How the heck did the woman get to her so quickly – even if she was the most athletic of the girls?

Cagalli grinned knowingly, though not answering the non-stated question.

"Sure thing _Lacus, _just stop talking so formal like we're at one of your dad's English tea parties and we'll be on our way!" The teasing blonde then jumped into the still-open door of the pink-haired woman with boundless energy. Lacus smiled good-heartedly at her friend's restless (and impatient) antics with a shake of her pink-haired head before following the blonde into the dark limousine.

A window began unrolling and Cagalli abruptly stuck her head from the slick, black vehicle. Her golden eyes were questioning as she gazed the thoughtful-looking, magenta-eyed girl still stock-still on the gravel driveway. Stella, as if somehow sensing Cagalli's questioning stare, looked up at the other blonde with a confused but curious look.

"What does 'lesbo' mean Cagalli?" Stella tilted her head to the side as if to emphasize her innocence, and _dang_, the gesture was working.

It was going to be a long ride.

~oOo~

"Okay, you have to get that dress! Stella says it's a must! Don't you agree Lacus?" Stella whirled in her hybrid, purple-violet and white ribbon dress, reeling out a green satin outfit in front of Cagalli with childish grace. Lacus smiled, nodding at the choice while Cagalli instantly and bluntly stated, "No."

Stella frowned, giving Cagalli big, magenta puppy-eyes with a side of kid-like pouting, unbeknownst to her, herself. Lacus muffled her bubbling laugh. Stella was so childish and innocent and she didn't even _know _what she was doing to Cagalli, so the aggressive blonde couldn't do anything against her. It was a lose-lose situation for Cagalli either way.

"Fine," the jagged-blonde huffed, snatching the gorgeous green dress from the wavy-haired blonde.

Despite Stella's ignorant mind of everything else, the seventeen-year old girl had impeccable taste in clothing and any fashion accessory. In fact, she had designed and _made _the dress she was wearing at the moment.

Although, it was sort of funny that her strange talent was birthed from the fact that she 'didn't really like the new bed-sheets' she got from her step-mother. Oh, don't get her wrong, she absolutely _adored _Auntie Murrue – it's just – she didn't like her fashion taste. So, Stella tore the white and purple fabric from her bed, grabbed a few light-violet hair ribbons from her drawer, and _snip, snip, snip. _The blonde-haired girl had worked on the piece for merely a weekend, and my-oh-my, it was beautiful in the end – lopsided, yes – but that was the whole point of oddly-sleeved sundress.

"Do I _seriously_ have to get out in t-this _thing? _I can actually see and feel the air on my _skin!_"

Lacus and Stella chuckled at their friend's antics, and Lacus called over with a slight tease, "That's the whole point of a dress, Cagalli."

Suddenly the mahogany curtain that hid the evidently irate blonde from view whipped open, and Lacus and Stella nearly gawked in surprise.

Cagalli was _beautiful._

The top of the dress was white, tinged so lightly in green that one could barely notice it. The green colour was a dark emerald at the bottom of the billowing dress, before it kept getting paler and insipid as it reached the bodice – A sash of vine-like lace hung around her from shoulder to shoulder – to a pure, ivory white. Trimmings of elaborate vines and leaves were snaking themselves at the bottom hemline, creating a summertime forest effect. The simple design yet the intricate, detailed embellishments were perfect for Cagalli.

Stella immediately glomped the young, blonde Atha with utter happiness. "This is _perfect _Cagalli! Stella really, really thinks you should get it!"

"What!" Cagalli squeaked and her eyes widened comically. "No, no, no and no! I can't get th-this _abomination_ of a piece of fabr –," she immediately quieted at the look Stella was giving her.

Damn Stella and her eyes.

Cagalli sighed in defeat. "Alright. But I am _never _going to any dress store with you ever again. Are we clear?" the blonde glared heatedly at her best friends, as if waiting for the expected retribution.

Lacus nodded unconvincingly, smile still wide and proud as Stella blinked cutely with a toothy grin.

Cagalli frowned blankly at them before gliding back into the small change room to take the green… _thing _off of her. She sighed distractedly as she gratefully slipped on her many-pocketed cargoes and her tight red t-shirt. The golden-eyed blonde _knew _she wouldn't ever wear the gosh-awful dress, so what was the point of spending…

Cagalli's golden eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as her golden orbs wandered over to the white tag, the realization of exactly _what_ the atrocious price was apparent only now.

"_Stella…_" she pronounced slowly, like a volcano almost ready to erupt.

The wavy, short-haired blonde poked her head through the cotton curtain, curious as to why her name was called.

"Do you _realize _how damn _expensive _this is!" Cagalli was fuming, and even Lacus could tell without looking at the enraged woman. Cagalli was always short-tempered in the first place.

Stella cocked her head to the side, as per usual. "Of course Stella knew. That dress is an original by Meer Campbell, one of the top stylists in the world right now. Stella met Campbell-san before because Neo invited her over to sing before. Her voice is almost as pretty as Lacus's and she is very nice."

Neo was actually what she dubbed her father, Mu La Flaga, for as long as both her friends could remember. And to this day, neither of them could understand why she called her father such.

"I don't care about this Miri Camobell or whatever! I want to know why the heck this piece of clothing is such a rip-off!" Cagalli cried, nearly shrieked in her stall.

"Shhh, calm down Cagalli. We're still in a store if you must know." Lacus reprimanded hastily before quickly smiling and waving away the other customer's odd looks at them as if used to this occurrence.

Most of the crowd's strange-looking stares left and continued with what they were doing in the clothing store, so Lacus spun her utter attention back, pleadingly glancing over at Stella with a slight pout. "And please don't say my voice can even compare, not to mention be _better_ than this world-known artist you speak of. If you must compare anyone to anything, I must say your dancing is well on par and perhaps superior to the Hawke Twins."

Stella instantly gasped, her rose-hued eyes widening as she whirled onto her pink-haired friend.

"Stella could never even _dream _of dancing in front of so many people like the Twins. It's simply impossible for me! They have guts, ambition and – and everything I don't!"

Lacus didn't comment that Stella had returned to first-person point of view while she had spoken.

"_So_… are we going yet?"

The two girls suddenly beheld Cagalli, who in turn blinked at them in question. She waved the square (and to her dismay) _pink _parcel that held (to her further dismay) her green, brand-name dress. "It's almost five, so we may as well grab some dinner at the food court," she paused, "You two done?"

Lacus nodded with a kind smile, as if she forgot all of the proceedings from earlier along with an ever innocent-looking Stella. For once, Stella wasn't obliviously appearing as so.

As they happily stepped out of the dress boutique, _Cloudless Dream_, the three girls chattered aimlessly as they treaded heedlessly down the bustling mall.

People of all races, standings and ages were scattered around the grand plaza that day, and the girls realized they had to hold hands as not to lose each other in the humongous crowd. Unfortunately, as they tried slipping past the side of the horde of people, someone must have bumped Stella because suddenly the girl was pushed back, still clutching onto Lacus but had lost her grasp onto wide-eyed Cagalli.

Cagalli could barely manage out the girls as they almost immediately disappeared into the buoyant crowd from her golden-eyed sight.

Luckily Lacus's pink hair was _quite _original in the crowd – more so since, no one knew _why_, but it was _natural, born-with _pink hair – and was impossible to copy and colour. Despite the odd looks usually sent towards the kind, gentle girl, Cagalli was grateful at the moment for her peculiar hair.

As the jagged, blonde-haired woman managed to navigate her way through the crowd, she furious as she noticed that her two best friends, basically sisters since she had no other siblings, where being pressed and pushed, both struggling to still hold onto each other.

Seriously, what was with the restless crowd today? Was there some sort of large sale going on?

Cagalli decided she had no choice but to helplessly follow the girls until she was close enough to grab hold of them.

She had then dubbed herself the oldest sister of her self-proclaimed 'sister squad.' Who else would take that role? Besides, coincidentally she actually _was _older than the two. Well, Lacus was but a few days younger – ah well, that didn't matter. Suddenly Cagalli noticed that both of them had accidentally fallen through one of the _Employees Only _doors, near the washroom area.

She couldn't tell if that was good luck or bad.

As she went through the ever-bustling throng, Cagalli's amber eyes lead her until she made it to the double doors and instantly she dashed through them.

She froze. The oddly long hallway was empty, save for a palm-tree-like plant in the nearest corner and janitor's mop next to it. There were a quite a few doors that the two could have went through, perhaps fourteen if she could count right, and Cagalli sincerely doubted that they had went through the janitor's door. Why did they _keep _going if they knew they had lost her?

Cagalli sighed, her hand placed onto her forehead.

It was time to hunting.

~oOo~

Stella was really, really, really confused this time.

Truly.

She had been holding on to Cagalli and Lacus approximately five minutes or so ago, but then this little brown-haired school-girl tripped her (not on purpose!) and she inadvertently had let go of Cagalli. Lacus was luckily still with her, until they suddenly stumbled through some double doors. Stella cocked her head to the side absently as she recalled what happened up until now:

_A black-haired, tanned man with a neon-orange jumpsuit suddenly found them on the dirty, tiled flooring, and he instantly frowned at Lacus and her._

"_Why are you two still here? I thought all the contestants had been placed in Room A already! No wonder they were missing some people…" he sighed, running a gloved hand through his greasy hair. "Guess I'll have to bring you there. I really should get paid more…"_

_Suddenly the man grabbed them both – who were to startled to do anything to stop him – and were then seated in this odd room, filled with empty chairs and a drinking fountain in the corner with a potted plant. Lacus, who was the first to break out of her reverie, was about to question the muttering man but was then halted. A young-looking woman had walked out of the other door in the opposite side of the room, and had called Lacus to come with her, before dragging the pink-haired girl into said room._

_Weird._

And now, the same bespectacled woman was making her go into this room with three weird-looking people!… no offense to the people…

They all sat silently, moved inside the lengthy table with already scribbled on clipboards in front of them. Two were openly staring at her, as if waiting for something as they held their poised, hovering pens over the papers in front of each of them. The tall man on the very left had a headpiece or mask thing on him in a colour of dark, metallic gray with red-lines under the layer of metal resembling some sort of tribal design and translucent blue lenses in the mask's eye socket. He had long, wavy blonde hair like her father – actually, now that she thought about it – he looked exactly like her father.

The masked-man, the only one who hadn't been paying the slightest attention to her at her entrance time was contently drinking a glass of clear, cool water while he tapped his ball-point pen on the white-clothed table absently. Suddenly as he turned and captured Stella in his sight, he instantly spat out said liquid as his un-seen gaze landed on her form. Somehow, Stella had the sneaking suspicion that he had widened his eyes behind the strange mask.

"Roanoke-san!" the woman beside him shrieked, moving away quickly before more of his water would contaminate her crisp, whitish grey skirt.

She was quite pretty to say the truth, except she was wearing this strange military uniform, as if cosplaying for some popular anime. She had violet eyes to match her dark fuchsia lipstick, both very striking on her pale complexion but making her all the more original. Her dark, ebony hair, despite being cut so short, was truly rather fitting for her because of her angular features and heart-shaped jawline. She didn't look like she smiled often, even though she looked to be only twenty-five years old.

Roanoke – the man who looked like her father – had actually fallen from his chair… laughing? "S-sorry, Natarle. It's just," he seemed to have looked back at me (Stella couldn't tell since he was wearing that strange concealment) before bursting out in pure, throaty laughter.

Natarle scowled openly at him before turning to the man on her left with frank exasperation. "Headmaster Durandal, how on earth do you even cope with this man?"

Durandal had night-black long hair, sharp yet wavy, with kind golden eyes to accentuate his handsome looks. He was probably around thirty, like the Roanoke guy and her father, and seemed to be just as kind. He wore this white, black and purple overcoat with inflections of red overtop a white military-like uniform. Black knee-high boots somehow completed the strange outfit.

"He can be eccentric at times, but he's worthy for his line of work," Durandal replied simply, smiling lightly at the end.

"Hmph," Natarle abruptly sat in her chair, turning to Roanoke for but a moment as she put her pen down. "Get up or get out."

Almost immediately the masked-man pulled up his chosen chair and sat, though he was still failing at muffling his uncontrollable chuckles.

Stella couldn't help but laugh at their odd, immature antics.

Natarle raised an ebony eyebrow, glancing over at the teenage girl while she reorganized her papers to clip into her board. "You laugh? Aren't you nervous?"

Stella continued giggling, much to Durandal and Natarle's utter amazement, before the blonde smiled brightly at the three, balancing on the balls of her feet absently. "Why would Stella not? You are all very funny," she laughed prettily again, and Natarle gaped with surprise as Durandal couldn't help but smile at the carefree girl in front of him.

Abruptly her tinkling, melodious laughter stopped, much to the three's odd dismay and Stella then cocked her head to the side cutely, regaining their attention.

"And why would Stella be nervous?" she asked curiously, blinking obliviously.

Natarle, immediately surprising and horrifying both the men in the room, let out a small almost _gentle_ smile at the young girl in front of her, "Alright. Already I can tell you're going to be a great star if you can do this so simply, no anxiety showing at all. Now, could you tell us what you specialize in? Singing? Acting?"

Stella casted a confused look at the three, cocking her head from side to side innocently before she spoke her ponderings. "Stella doesn't know why you want to know, but Stella really likes to dance!" she beamed happily.

Natarle nodded with approval, but Durandal was the one who spoke. "Natarle, please put on the last participant's song."

Natarle blinked up at the long-haired man. "If I may ask, why?"

Durandal merely smiled, "I just have this little suspicion that it will bring out this young lady's potential."

Natarle sighed, but nodded in the end. She took out a small stereo from under the white-clothed table, her finger wavering on the replay button as continued speaking. "Alright, you always do what you want anyway."

Stella, still confused as to what was going on, suddenly smiled as she heard a beautiful, captivating voice – an all too familiar voice.

_Mizu no naka ni yoru ga yureteru_

_Kanashii hodo shizuka ni tatazumu_

_Midorinasu kishibe_

The night is wavering in the water

The greening shore is so still and silent

That it is painful

She didn't know why, but Stella decided to play along with her strange impulses at the sound of the song, of the song of one of her very best friends.

She danced.

Step by step, slowly but sharply turned at each quick beat, her soft-featured face still and smiling serenely. Words melded with the melody, and Stella twirled, paused, stroked – did whatever that came into her creatively childish mind as Lacus sung in the background, no longer paying the slightest attention to her shocked audience and fully absorbed in the beautiful song.

The song Lacus made.

~oOo~

How did Cagalli get into this situation again?

Okay, it was time to backtrack.

She was looking for her lost friends.

She was looking through doors for her lost friends.

She was looking through doors for her lost friends, and now she was in a room with none of her friends.

Instead, she had been snatched by some bespectacled, light-haired woman who led her into a room where three, no four, people resided in: a masked man in the far-left seat, a short-haired military woman in the middle-left seat, a long-haired kind-looking man in the middle right seat, and right as the bespectacled woman left the room, an angry or annoyed looking kid walked in, instantly chatting up with the three unknown people as if she wasn't there.

He was probably around her age, seventeen like Stella being most probable, with piercing crimson eyes and spikey, mussed dark hair. He had a lean build, not scrawny but not overly muscular – and now he seemed to be angrily glaring at her for idly observing the him.

"What the hell are you ogling at? Like what you see or something?"

Cagalli's jaw fell, her temper completely obvious. She crossed her arms defiantly, returning the already abhorrent boy's glower with fierce one of her own. "The hell? All I did was get dragged into this room and now some egoistic nut thinks I'm _ogling _him?"

The red-eyed guy visibly didn't expect a retort and he sputtered heatedly, clearly furious.

"Don't you know who I am? I'm Shinn Asuka. _Asuka,_" he emphasized slowly.

"And I'm Cagalli I-don't-care. _I don't care._" Cagalli wasn't impressed, even though she probably should have been at the mention of the almost familiar name.

Shinn was shocked, and not in a good way.

He had went to the men's restroom and accidentally missed two performances that the other teacher-judges had actually deemed _good. _Even Natarle said they were over average. And he _missed _it! Now, when he's back, after a brief talk with the others, he finds some overly dramatic blondie staring at him, _offending him _and not _caring _about his evident fame and fortune? Most girls would have been tripping over their own feet just so he would _look _at them, and this girl just waltzes in here with no idea of even _who he was? _And even _insults _him?

She was either very good (cocky), very bad (nervous), or simply an idiot (stupid).

Shinn opted for the latter two.

"Well Miss I-don't-care, why don't you try showing us what you got then? Act this scene out well and I'll approve of you, nothing else." Hell, Shinn didn't care if she was actually good at singing, dancing or whatnot. Acting was her only option right now, because he dubbed it so. Hopefully she'll fail flat out. Either way though, even if her acting skills were decent, Shinn would never allow her acceptance into the greatly esteemed, prestigious SEED Academy. She'd have to blow his expectations for that.

He mentally snickered at the thought of her actually being _good_.

"Fine!" Cagalli had never backed down from a challenge, and she wasn't starting now. She impulsively snatched the small manuscript from the amused red-eyed boy, a frown evident on her face as she skimmed over the few contents. Instantly she looked up, her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth in apparent outrage. "You want me to act out _gay guys? _Two _gay _guys! At the exact same time!"

Shinn sniggered annoyingly, running a hand through his already messy, black hair as he eyed the jagged-haired blonde. "Course' not. I'll act out Character A, Yuugo Suzuki, and you'll have to respond to me as Character B, Kane McNarold."

Cagalli unconsciously stepped back, disgust displayed on her livid countenance. "Ewww, no way!"

Shinn quirked a brow, "You want Natarle to act instead?" he smirked at the blush that dusted across the blonde's features at the simple suggestion. "Alright, then all you got is me," he smiled deviously as he pointed at himself.

"But why do I have to be a _guy? _I'm a girl if you didn't notice!" Cagalli nearly hollered, her shriek hurting all ears in the soundproof room.

Shinn squeezed an eye shut, palms covering his ears to muffle the loud screech, before another grin played at his lips once he realized she had stopped yelling. "Sorry but, considering what you're wearing – yeah, you could have passed off as a guy." Shinn didn't know why, but he found teasing the cute girl was quite fun _and_ funny_._

Hmmm, maybe it was worth it, missing out on those two 'good' candidates for this feisty one.

Cagalli really, _really _wanted to scream at him right then and there, but then she'd probably burst her own hammering eardrums.

The masked man in the back cleared his throat, a wry smile escaping him as he glanced over to Cagalli. "So… could you continue?" He sincerely hoped Cagalli would know that he meant to continue with the audition, and not the argument.

Luckily she did understand. Cagalli bit her lip, as if in response, "Fine. Let's get this over with already." She scanned the sheet of three lines once more, before setting it on the side table.

She had the (undeniably _gross_) scene memorized to a T.

Shinn grinned in conceited triumph before instantly wiping the emotion from his face. It was time to get his acting mode on.

Suddenly, the look in his eyes turned from amusement and annoyance to… love?

That sent shivers along Cagalli's spine instantly.

Shinn spoke right then, in a husky, nearly pleading voice, obviously love-struck but still afraid tone. "Kane, w-why are you doing this?" he managed to make it sound like he was about to break down and cry, even without looking at his tearing-up face as he backed away from the blonde.

Cagalli bit her lip, both to hide her instant mortification and her indecision. How the heck was she supposed to portray the next line? She tried to remember a time she had done something like this… maybe…

"Times up!" Shinn suddenly cheered, his crocodile tears and debased acting gone within the second.

Cagalli whirled onto him, shocked and aggravated as her anger almost reached her limits. "What? You gave me only mere minutes to get the hell ready–"

Shinn tsk-ed, shaking his head in clear disapproval with a ghost smile on his lips, "The camera is always in front of you, you _have _to be ready at all times." He smirked haughtily, as if proud of himself to say something sounding so wise.

"Now get out," he waved offhandedly, turning away from the _livid _girl.

Cagalli wasn't sure what then happened, but something – _something_ exploded in her overdriven mind. Her emotions, her _will _to show this obnoxious guy what she was made of, made something shatter behind her golden eyes. All of a sudden, she felt herself calm, almost _too_ calm, as she stepped into the role of Kane McNarold – the character she needed to act, to relate to – to _become._

Kane forced himself onto him, pushing the unsuspecting boy onto the wall with surprising strength. Cagalli – no – _Kane _smirked deviously at the stunned look Shinn – no – Yuugo was giving him, before he caressed the side of Yuugo's smooth face.

"Why am I doing this?" he purred, the voice smoother than velvet or melted chocolate. "Why do you _think _I'm doing this," Kane blew onto the other boy's neck, "_Yuugo?" _he breathed sensuously.

Shinn was shocked beyond all reason. This girl… who was she? Shinn mentally shook his head, and finished the scene with 'Yuugo's' demeaning voice. "Because… I-I love you."

Instant clapping was heard in the background and suddenly, 'Kane' disappeared from Cagalli's mental mind, and she instantly backed off of Shinn, bewildered. She frowned. What the heck just happened?

Shinn sighed, but joined in on the clapping, announcing his defeat with a sardonic smile. "Good job Cagalli, I didn't think you had it in you," and Shinn meant it, sincerely. To think she actually did it, and quite well to add. Ah well, it was going to be fun harassing the feisty girl at school. Shinn glanced over at the three judges, who nodded, before he brought forth his hand.

"Congratulations Cagalli. You'll be enrolled in SEED Academy once your papers are filled and sent to us. There's no turning back now, eh?"

Cagalli was mystified.

"What?"

~oOo~

The three girls eyed the papers in their hands with incredulity.

Cagalli had just stepped out of the (what she then realized) audition room, using the only other door than the entrance one she had used before, and figured out that it had led to the mall's ever-bustling food court. There, she instantaneously found one of the public eating tables had been shared with Lacus, who was blinking fitfully as if in a daze at some sheets in front of her, and Stella, who smiled incomprehensively at the papers in her right hand while she drummed her fingers onto the table with the other.

Cagalli immediately ran over to them hugging them both with fierce gratitude, her smile almost ear-to-ear, "Where the heck have you two been?" she asked earnestly as she sat down next to Lacus.

The pink-haired girl laughed awkwardly behind her hand before her puzzled look took complete hold. She cocked her head with a little duck pout. "I'm not exactly sure," she paused, as if pondering. "Three people asked me to sing, so I did. Then they gave me these papers." Lacus frowned, still flipping through the manuscript that told her to write her personal matters and 'current' high school's information in.

Cagalli gaped in shock and promptly turned to Stella with an inquiring gaze, hoping to not hear what she evidently expected. Of course, the innocent girl smiled obliviously and nodded at the dreaded and unspoken question.

"Stella too! Stella was pulled into this room with three strange-looking people, who told her to show a talent. So Stella danced!" she clapped childishly, as if she was sincerely proud of the accomplishment.

Cagalli immediately began slamming her head onto the table in front of her.

Lacus gasped, quickly stopping her blond-haired friend. "Ara, ara! Cagalli, don't do that or else many of your brain cells will die and you'll become stupider!"

Cagalli blinked, processing what Lacus said slowly. "Wait. Stupid_er? _Are you saying I'm already stupid?" she gritted out, narrowing her smouldering gaze at the pink-haired girl.

Lacus gulped inconspicuously before a quick, toothy smile took over her features. "Cagalli, your one of the brightest, most sincere girls I've ever known. Now what was it you were saying beforehand?"

Cagalli stared blankly at the pink-haired girl, not exactly buying her change of topic, before she slumped onto the table in front of her in defeat and an aura that declared _I-don't-care-anymore_. After a long pause, she spoke, even if it sounded completely dejected and was merely one word, one name.

"Lacus." Said spoken girl straightened up at the odd tone Cagalli used. The usually spirited blonde turned her downcast golden-eyed gaze to the other blonde occupant at their table, stopping the girl's muffles of laughter from Lacus's previous comments.

"Stella," she paused after the name, before she slumped over once more, her golden-haired head buried in her bare arms. "Do you realize what all of us have done?" Cagalli's voice was slightly muffled in her arms, but it sounded tired all the same.

Lacus planted her index finger on her chin in thought, tilting her head and looking off into space for but a moment before slowly shaking in immediate response. "No, I don't, to speak the truth."

"Stella doesn't either," Stella smiled openly, cocking her head to the side.

Cagalli sighed again, sitting up before pulling out the last sheet in the documents the three – no, _four_ 'judges' had given her, since she supposed Shinn counted as one. On the front was a large insignia of a lily-white flower sprouting out of a small seed with three circles around the image and two words stamped onto it that completely changed all their lives forever.

"We've accidentally enrolled into SEED Academy – _the_ prestigious SEED Academy of Performing and Backstage Arts."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**(10/04/2012): **This was a sort of go-with-the-flow idea I had while I went to bed the other day, and I just had to write it down on paper. Don't know if anyone's going to like it, but if you readers do - _and _review! - I'll try and continue this. I have no promises as to _when _I'll update, but I'll try. Tell me if there are any mistakes or grammar stuff. I don't have a beta-reader so it's sort of hard for me to see my faults.


	2. Butterfly Effect

**Author's Notes – **_**I'm sorry everyone. For some reason, when I posted this chapter on the 21**__**st **__**of April, it didn't show on the site. I've reposted it now thanks to **_**AngelfishXD _who reviewed last chapter and told me_****.**_** Oh yeah, I've also fixed a mistake that I made in the previous chapter: I accidentally wrote that everyone was 17 when they're supposed to be 16!**_

_**Summary: **__AU/ Lacus didn't believe the praise in her singing. Stella would never have danced in front of a crowd. Cagalli didn't know she could act. Now, when these three best friends unintentionally enroll into SEED Academy, what will become of them? Parings: LacusxKira, StellaxShinn and CagallixAthrun_

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED and/or Gundam SEED Destiny. All credit belongs to SUNRISE Inc. and director Mitsuo Fukuda.

* * *

_**Track 02: Butterfly Effect**_

* * *

The elegant, front lawn of the Academy was excessively larger than her previous school grounds itself.

Even that was an understatement.

As a smiling Stella propped herself further out of the presently rolled down, glass window, striving to seek the so-called great and revered SEED Academy buildings, she absently wondered whether they would arrive any time soon.

Once she felt the refreshing wind run its fingers through her golden hair, the ever-curious blonde soon found that her slight struggles were nothing but in vain. Though the grey-asphalt path to it had appeared infinite, making Stella easily note how many acres the prestigious school possessed, she soon realized that the long limo was almost at their destination. With trimmed, freshly dewed blades of lush grasses spreading far and wide on the sides of the vehicle, it had made the winding, narrow road leading into the Academy's doors seem to go on endlessly – but now, much to Stella's utter delight, they were finally there.

Stella leaned back from her open window with a small, secretive smile before silently observing the other two in SEED Academy's sent-over limousine in the corner of her eyes with newfound curiosity.

Lacus seemed politely content, dressed impeccably in her casual ivory and lavender dress attire while absently fondling the white-rose keychain attached to her one-handled schoolbag. Her pale-blue eyes wandered the black innings of the slick car with respectful interest and Stella didn't have to strain to covertly overhear the faint tune she vibrated subconsciously. If Stella hadn't been practically sisters with the graceful, kind pink-haired princess, she wouldn't even have silently noticed the inconspicuous tremor in her elegant fingertips as she twirled the pure ivory key-fob, or the occasional uneasy pause in her soft hum.

Stella instinctively knew Lacus was battling an inner turmoil and possibly some overwhelming anxiety despite her delicately calm appearance. Soon the blonde's magenta-hued eyes quietly swiveled over to Cagalli and wondered if the Atha heiress was also silently nervous.

Indeed she was.

The other blonde, who had sat next to Stella for soon-to-be-known purposes, had a small, nearly non-existent dimple in her cheek despite her non-smiling countenance. If Stella hadn't known the proud lady for years, she wouldn't have been able to deduct that the 'dimple' was really Cagalli biting the insides of her cheek as a stress-reliever – nor would Stella have quietly noticed the continuous drumming of her slender fingers unto the smooth, genuine leather seats as a sign of high-strung impatience.

Yes, if Stella hadn't known the two for (how many?) years, she wouldn't have known the evident worry and slight torment in her best friends' small, nearly unnoticeable habits. In fact, she wouldn't have even cared about them if she hadn't known them. To be blunt, Stella knew she never was quite 'zoned-in' with her surroundings in spite of her academically proficient qualities. Stella frowned at her thoughts. Now where was she… oh yeah! Stella cocked her head in slight pondering.

Why were they so nervous?

Stella really had no clue.

In her case, Stella was really, really happy with their recent changes, and couldn't slightly comprehend the downsides that her friends seemed to be looking over at that moment. Look how exciting it was! A brand new school, a boarding academy to add, where more new friends could be found!

Stella was so ecstatic that she couldn't keep the small smile off her face as she clicked her heels.

Absently, she wondered if there would be any textile clubs. It would really make her day if there were, truly. No, no, no, maybe she would join a dance club. Yeah! That was the reason why she was able to come into the school in the first place. But then, what if she had to do large, grand-scale recitals? Oh no! That would be terrible. Imagine, tens or hundreds of people silently watching –

Suddenly, she snapped out of her thoughts as she finally felt the ceaseless tapping upon her bare shoulder. Stella blinked blankly at the slender, manicured finger that was still trying to gain her attention before glancing up and locked gazes with endless blue eyes.

Stella instantly beamed. "You have really pretty eyes, Lacus!"

Lacus sighed half-heartedly with a small smile, shaking her head at Stella's frank remarks as she stood to her full height. "I appreciate your comments, Stella, but we've already parked at the Academy," she paused, her smile shifting to a slight grimace framed by her pink tresses. As if sensing Stella's observations, the pink princess reformed into a more polite but sincerely kind smile.

"Welcome to our new home, Stella."

~oOo~

The fountain was the first thing Lacus saw.

It had a perfect, stone-made circle around it, perhaps for tired students to rest upon, and Lacus couldn't help but admire its simple elegance. Three marbled swans, two ivory-white and one ebony-black, appeared to be taking flight, with their wings spread out wide and proud, each feather chiselled on so realistically. They were attached onto a high platform that resembled a blooming white lotus flower and – with what Lacus supposed was right under the birds' feet – there was pure water pouring into the basin bellow, sparkling in the springtime sun and creating an illusion of a rainbow arching along it. As Lacus admired the fountain, she couldn't help but notice a small, monarch butterfly on the black swan's head shaking off the rain of fountain water from its wings, flapping twice.

Beautiful.

As Lacus daintily stepped out of the black limousine, straight after tapping Stella out of her reverie, she smiled instantly after catching sight of the stunning fountain. To be honest to herself, she had been wrung out after receiving the shocking news from Cagalli that they were – in a way – being immediately forced into a brand new school.

A school she herself, had almost applied to a few years back.

If Cagalli hadn't mentioned the well-renowned, highly respected institute for debuting idols and models, aspiring technicians and cameramen, or ambitious businessmen and agents, Lacus may or may not have heard of the great SEED Academy in her next lifetime. The upstate school only accepted the wealthy – which had immediately set off Lacus when her father mentioned it when she was younger – because of their great education in all fields and electives. Siegel Clyne, her very own father, wanted her to enroll here before once he had found out about her prodigious, talented voice.

Lacus chuckled even now, presently. She didn't have a good voice! Perhaps a little over average – she did in fact have a good sense of rhythm and tone – but not enough to become a singer!

She shook her head, smiling at the mere reference of it all. To think that she had accidentally auditioned for a full scholarship into the school – not to mention her _friends _did so as well – and was accepted! After the episode in the mall, her friends and she immediately told their families about it. To say they were shocked would have been an overstatement, and far from it to add. Their families had all smiled and nodded at them – in Stella's case, her father and step-mother pleasantly hummed over the phone – agreeing that they should take the offer up and enroll, as if it was an everyday thing like buying coffee: no hesitation at all.

To sum it up, each of them had to pack their bags and things before meeting up at the same mall a week later so that the Academy could take them into the new school. As it turned out, only certain vehicles were permitted to enter the vicinity of SEED Academy grounds because of all the sneaking paparazzi and assassins trying to get the famous and rich on the covers of magazines.

Lacus huffed. _See! I don't understand what's the worth of being famous and rich. It won't make me happy at all, that's for certain._

"Lacus? Are you okay?"

She instantly snapped out of her ponderings and suddenly her pale-blue eyes were finally able to notice both of her golden-haired friends staring at her.

Lacus instantly smiled. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Cagalli quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms, as if interrogating the pink-haired girl. "But you were muttering something under your breath a few moments ago."

"Ara? Ara? Was I really?" Lacus raised her palm to her cheek in astonishment, glancing from side to side in ruffled worry. "Oh, I do hope no one saw!"

"Stella and Cagalli did though!" Stella chimed, still smiling obliviously as she leaned back on the heels of her feet.

"You did what?"

The three girls all turned to the new and curious voice, and suddenly found a pretty brunette appear from thin air by their side. Her bronzed brown hair was an attractive shade, trimmed right at her shoulders yet slightly flaring up at the ends, making the hairdo appear to have been cut at her neck. Her curling chocolate bangs over-hanged above her pair of striking aqua blue eyes, set unto an apple-shaped face. She wore a chrome-orange, buttercup dress with small ruffles around the ending circumference. The corset on top was peachy white with a slim, orange ribbon (tied as a cute little bow) to match her knee-high socks (which also had two little bows) slipped inside a pair of comfortable, brown leather loafers. Like Lacus, she wore two sort of slip-on, chrome-orange sleeves, but hers excluded the extra ruffles that Lacus had to match her outfit.

A mischievous smile suddenly widened onto her features and she absently slung her brown bag over her shoulder, leaning closer to the three in a secretive whisper. "You girls didn't by chance steal a little souvenir from the Eastern part of the Sun Hall, did ya?" her blue eyes glittered deviously, "Because I'd love bargain the items for my article in the School News if you did. Think: _Three Girls Finally Successfully Break Into SEED Princes' Rooms._"

The three girls presented a myriad of reactions: Lacus with true horrification, Stella with utter confusion and Cagalli with a stare that obviously said _WTF?_

The brunette pouted cutely, "Oh come on. I've got a few secretly taken pictures of Kira that _aren't _related to work – though, the ones I've captured Athrun and Shinn in are a much higher price," she huffed, twirling a lock of ginger hair. "It's like they have Spiderman's blood or something! They always know when to turn or leave or simply find me out of hiding spots, like instinct! And, _danggg, _those pictures were so hard to get… a definite one-of-a-kind unless I decide to duplicate them."

Stella blinked.

Cagalli frowned.

Lacus decided to break the ice. "Ara… I'm sorry…?"

The brunette brightened with a smile, "The name's Miriallia Haw, aspiring photographer."

Lacus smiled kindly, "Well Haw-san, we've just transferred into this school –"

"So we have absolutely _no idea _what the hell you're babbling about," Cagalli cut off, her deep scowl still evident.

Miriallia's mouth created a little 'o' as the realization settled in, her teal-blue pools widening. "Oh. Emm. Gee. That's even _better! _No wonder I've never heard of you attractive girls before!" Before any of the three could process her words, her professional camera – where did that come from? – made a light sound, its circular lens focussing as it turned on. Miriallia smiled not-so-innocently before –

_**Click. Flash. Flash. Flash.**_

"Wha –," Lacus blinked fitfully.

_**Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Flash.**_

"Ahhh! Stella is blind!" Stella rubbed her eyes fiercely as her sight was blotted in colours.

_**Click. Flash. Flash. Click. Flash.**_

"The hell is wrong with you?" Cagalli cried angrily, shaking her head to clear her vision.

Miriallia grinned sheepishly, scratching the side of her neck as she finally realized the three girls' reactions. "Well, you're all new _and _good eye-candy for the guys, so I want to be first to take your pictures," suddenly she beamed a warm smile, slinging the lengthy handle attached to the bulky camera over her neck as she brought forth her slim hand. "Sorry. I guess I did get a _little _carried away there."

"No, really?" Cagalli quipped sarcastically while rubbing her eye.

"Ignore her, she's just grumpy that her father forced her here," Lacus waved off with a kind smile, accepting the handshake politely.

Miriallia raised an eyebrow curiously as she retook her hand. "But didn't you three get full on scholarships? It's been all over the _SEED NEWS _articles for the past week since _three _people had been able to pass the 'free' exam," she paused and as if in afterthought, "So far, we've only ever accepted five students without charge since SEED Academy had been established, and do you even _know _how old this school is? Maybe it hadn't been a performing arts sort of place way back then, but it was still pretty prestigious. And the _last _student who had gotten the full scholarship is probably in his forties now."

"Really? Stella didn't know she was auditioning. Stella was dancing in front of the judges!" the soft-haired blonde smiled obliviously at her own contradiction.

"Hold up," Miriallia gawked, blue eyes in full stare-mode. "You three _didn't even try _and _actually_ got in?" she exclaimed, evidently astounded.

"Ara ara! Of course not! We try our best in everything we do!" Lacus clarified quickly.

Cagalli snorted, angrily scowling to the side as if in reminiscence. "Especially when red-eyed assholes are trying to show you up… fucking son of a –," she was silenced suddenly at Lacus's frosty glare. Cagalli was frozen to her spot. Remember: Lacus _never _glared… because that was and never will be a pleasant sight. If one would just imagine the kind, polite pink-haired princess sending an ice-cold, _don't-mess-with-me _stare from her already cool blue eyes…

Lacus was quite content without making everyone and everything fear her at a glance.

"Cagalli," Lacus smiled all-too sweetly, slitting her eyelids at her friend in mock civility, "Please refrain from speaking such profundities in front of a new acquaintance."

Cagalli's golden-orbs widened before she managed to recapture herself, "F-fine!" she huffed.

Stella blinked blankly at the two, before she broke out into a genuine smile at Miriallia. "Hello! Stella's name is Stella Loussier, but Miri can call Stella, Stella!"

Lacus was utterly confused for an instant before she abruptly remembered their previous conversation before the SEED limousine arrived, and beamed knowingly at Stella. The magenta-eyed blonde may be childish at times, but she had a photographic memory to be praised upon.

Lacus stepped forward, nodding her head in Miriallia's direction with a gentle smile. "I do not believe I have introduced myself," Lacus bowed politely with her head raised slightly. "You may call me Lacus Klein, though there are no needs for formalities, Miriallia."

Cagalli sighed behind the two already introduced girls, before she begrudgingly illuminated the blue-eyed brunette in a reluctant mutter. "The name's Cagalli. Cagalli Hibiki."

Yes, the three of them had wanted to alter their surnames as not to draw attention to their famous households. Stella was going to be using her true mother's maiden name for the Academy to not draw any attention to the La Flaga ménage. Cagalli would be substituting her Athha family name with Hibiki (she hadn't known why, but the blonde told her that was the first name she thought of, also adding in that it felt somehow familiar and _right _– whatever that meant) while Lacus would take on Klein instead of Clyne. Lacus hadn't wanted to completely change her last name, knowing she herself would not get used to being called something so foreign; she supposed a surname similar in sound would be a better option.

Stella bonked Cagalli on the head with her tiny fist as a pout puffed onto her features, "Cagalli! You have to be nice to our new friend! Say sorry!"

Cagalli rolled her eyes rudely, before walking forward to Miriallia with wry grin and hands in her pockets, "Friends, Mir?"

Miriallia laughed, suddenly glomping the surprised blonde in front of her with abrupt enthusiasm. "Oh, you three are hilarious! This year is _so _gonna be awesome!"

Cagalli's eyebrows rose to her hairline as she awkwardly returned the hug, quietly trying to squirm out of the embrace. "_Okay_… err… could we sign into the office or something?"

Miriallia beamed, letting go of Cagalli brusquely, "Sure! I'll show you three to Badjiruel-sensei's office. President Fukuda is kinda crazy, so try to avoid him as much as possible," as if in postscript, Miriallia added ominously, "He'll try to ensnare you into one of his schemes."

Stella suddenly froze, her soft-angled face scrunching into confusion. "But… at the audition, why did one of the judges call one of the other judges 'Headmaster Durandal' if he is not the principal?"

Mirialla laughed as the four kept walking, "Oh, no, no, no, no. Headmaster Durandal is the principal, but the president is Misuo Fukuda-san. He's the owner of SEED Entertainment, and bought this school. You see, this academy was once some upstate private school – a big one too, but there weren't that many students that actually went here – and then SEED Inc. bought it for their under-aged idols. The Headmaster owned this place before SEED took over, and now he's just second in command. Well, he's _supposed _to be second, but really, he controls everything here unless Fukuda-san decides to step in. So, Fukuda-san, in truth, doesn't actually _do _anything at the school. He's just _really, really _lucky to have come from a rich family – he's the youngest of five if I remember right – and none of his brothers and sisters wanted to take over the Entertainment company. And since he had nothing better to do, he did."

Miriallia pouted suddenly, shaking her head in disapproval. "Every now and then he has these weird roundabout ideas, like making a Hawaiian ball in the middle of winter or 'dress-up-as-your-opposite day,'" she smiled sympathetically at the three's skeptical looks, "Believe me, it's happened – _and _you're forced to do it, or else you'll lose marks for your classes."

"We'll that's fu – friggin' stupid," Cagalli quickly covered up, before Lacus would notice.

Lacus obviously did, but paid no mind to it as she also had a comment. "That reminds me, doesn't this school have uniforms?" Lacus eyed Miriallia's chrome-orange outfit.

Miriallia bit her lip, twiddling her fingers behind her back. "Err, yeah we do."

"And?" Lacus stressed, insistent for some sort of explanation.

Miriallia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It's also decided by Fukuda-san. He's always changing the uniform each year, and it's been heard in the rumour mill that this year's going to be 'Intergalactic Military'" Miriallia air-quoted with her fingers, adding a roll in her eyes as she continued her stride to the main building. "Seriously, where does the guy get this stuff from? Like a year ago we were in 'Medieval Europe' – dammit, I actually had to dress as a _lady-in-waiting _for _Fllay _– and just last year, we were in the prehistoric age!"

Suddenly her mouth completely warped from a frown into a devilish grin. "Although, because of that, I _was _able to take a few pics of the Princes as cavemen before everyone, including the teachers, revolted against the 'inappropriate' alterations some _certain _girls changed. Though, I was actually grateful that time, since the whole theme was then called off and we could wear whatever we wanted to class. Though, those same girls still wore… _things _that were just barely appropriate at school."

"Girls?" Lacus frowned in confusion.

"Ah, you'll figure it out yourselves. They stick out like sore thumbs in the high school campus." Miriallia waved off, and just as she turned her back onto the three, a grin lightened onto her face, "And we're finally here!"

Lacus's pale blue-gray eyes widened dramatically.

With towering stone-white pillars to hold up what seemed to be a veranda, gleaming and furnished, wooden double front doors, massively clear cut-glass windows holed through the mahogany, stock bricked walls and pure ivory-hued staircases, the mere entrance to SEED Academy's main building was more than impressive.

How had she not seen it?

The place was barely a few ten or so metres away from the swan fountain.

Lacus mentally hit herself. _I need to pay more attention to my surroundings!_

Once the four had entered through the double doors to the extravagant foyer, Lacus was simply astounded by the simple, classic design of it all. Even the _inside _looked as good as the outside.

Modern and chic – that was how it would be described. With (even more) white marbled, tiled floorings, cream coloured walls with half-pillars expertly placed three or so metres apart and beautiful paintings, flowers and stone mosaics on top of dark wooden side-tables or ivory-gold doors in each interval, the hallway could have competed with the Clyne Mansion's elegant passageways. There were sky-high ceilings in darker wood-like patterns above the pink-haired girl, and if she squinted hard enough, it seemed the wood overhead had been engraved into beautiful carvings of post-action scenes.

"Aren't they beautiful? At least some of Mr. Fukuda's ideas work out splendidly."

Lacus instantly snapped out of her observations and (with hidden embarrassment) realized Miriallia had fallen to the same walking pace as herself.

Still, she smiled kindly at the brunette, clasping her hands into her front out of habit. "Absolutely," her blue-gray eyes strayed upwards, "They are so… beautiful."

"Tch," Lacus heard Cagalli scoff, "Can we just get going? I don't want to lug our things everywhere, so I want to hurry and drop my stuff off in our assigned rooms."

Stella's voice chimed in thereafter. "Miri, where can Stella find Badgiruel-san's office? All the doors look the same." Lacus could _hear_ her pout at the end, despite being only able to see Stella's back.

The pink-haired girl swiveled her gaze to her walking companion before Miriallia spoke, "Actually," she sped up her pace from Lacus's and went straight ahead of Cagalli and Stella to turn the golden knob of a white door to their lefts. There was a sign speared outwards from the top of the entrance, and Lacus could now read the inscription on the wood because she was close enough.

_Ms. Badgiruel's Office_

Huh. Guess they found it.

Miriallia stepped forward and knocked twice, speaking formally through the white wood, "Badgiruel-sensei, the new transfers have arrived," she paused, "This is Miriallia Haw, senior, recently assigned to Moon Hall."

Silently awkward moments passed by in the corridor and muffled voices were heard from the interior, before a strictly feminine voice could be heard.

"Come in."

As the wooden door was pried open, Lacus instantly recognized with surprise that this 'Badgiruel' woman was one of the austere-looking judges who had stiffly, but sincerely complimented her in the audition room. Although from first glance, Lacus had been slightly frightened by the dominating short-haired woman, she soon realized that Ms. Badgiruel was (awkwardly) nice. Underneath all those layers and barriers of cold ice was bound to be a heart of gold.

Lacus knew – she wasn't officially dubbed by Cagalli as a 'persona-psychic' for nothing. She easily read people quicker than her very own romantic novels.

Once the other two, Stella and Cagalli, had entered the classically designed room, Lacus silently took note of two other individuals leaving said office out of the corner of her eye.

One was a slightly tall woman with chestnut-brown hair so jagged – more so even compared to Cagalli's – it was sticking forward past her heart-shaped face in spiky points. She had pure silver eyes, sharp and intelligent but undeniably compassionate, and rubicund red lipstick painted on her rosebud lips. The dark-goldenrod haired woman wore a white military uniform with a black belt, shoulder-neck cover and dark cuffs, with golden embellishments and donned a pair of white knee-high boots.

She smiled gently at the incoming female students and tipped her hat in greeting before hurriedly exiting the room with a tan-hued folder clasped at her side.

The other sported the same white soldierly outfit as the ginger-brunette, though he carried a more mysterious, analytical aura around him and had slightly billowing, wavy white-blonde hair. He proudly wore a metallic veneer with pale-blue lenses and sported a pair of thin, satin-white gloves, and Lacus supposed – like the woman before – he was around his late twenties. Then, almost suddenly, the man broke into an ominous smile at the sight of Stella in the room. But then, just as quickly, the enigmatic grin disappeared and was replaced with a thin smile. Of course, the soft blonde was completely oblivious – along with the rest of the room – to the flashing glance from the jasmine-yellow haired man before he had excused himself out, and simply skipped into the office room with a blankly acquitted smile.

Lacus shook her head. _I must be imagining things._

Miriallia bowed curtly in greeting, before silently urging the other three girls to follow her actions. Soon, the four girls formally stood in a horizontal line at the head of Natarle's paper-filled desk. The only object in the elegantly austere room that _seemed_ to be directly personal to Natarle was the small, smiling family photo of three placed in a metallic frame.

Natarle interlinked her fingers onto her splayed about documents over her desk, smiling a tad stiffly at the girls. Something lit up in her lilac-coloured eyes, and she spoke politely at the four, her voice strictly professional.

"Haw-san, it seems our school uniform has been decided. Fukuda-sama has undergone another one of his inane ideas, and will be announcing it during the assembly tomorrow, at three o' clock sharp," she hesitated, but continued rather tautly. "It has also been officially confirmed that the theme this year will be a sort of 'outer space military,'" she tripped over the out-of-place sounding words. "That is, if I remember correctly. In any case, you will need to salute to your teachers from now on in place of last year's bowing.

Miriallia saluted with her right-hand to her forehead, smiling in amusement. "Like this?"

Natarle sent a deadpanned look across, before an exasperated sigh left her lips as she nodded once, "I will never comprehend what goes on in the mind of the principal," as if in afterthought, she sighed once more and almost begrudgingly managed out, "At ease, Haw-san. You'll strain your arm if you hold it there any longer."

Miriallia did not muffle her giggles as she lowered her arm to her side.

Suddenly a thought seemed to flit through her mind and Miriallia's girlish giggling behavior ceased immediately. Before Lacus could question the brunette's drastic change of attitude, Natarle finished shuffling her papers and enlightened them that she had found their personal manuscripts. Each had a small photo of themselves in a 200x200 jpg picture copied onto the sheet, and the important details about themselves (excluding their real names of course and 'misinterpreting' their parents' jobs).

"Stella Loussier. Sixteen, a junior and pursuing –," Natarle broke off, her lilac-coloured eyes widening immensely, "_All _the dancing arts?"

Stella cocked her head in confusion, twirling a loose lock of blonde hair absently while rocking on her heels, "Did Stella do something wrong?"

"Well, no, not necessarily. It's just… do you really want to do hip-hop, jazz, ballet, pop, swing, Latin, modern, tap, Flamenco – " Natarle stopped, knitting her brows together abruptly, "Hold on, what's Flamenco?"

"It's an expressive dance form that mixes percussive footwork with intricate hand, arm and body movements. Flamenco is a Spanish art consisting of three forms: Cante, the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing!" Stella piped up without hesitation, smiling eagerly.

Natarle frowned, "I don't even think we have an instructor in that category anymore. Why is it still on the checking lists?" she muttered quietly, mostly to herself.

"Maybe because it's a pretty dance? Stella likes pretty dances. Well, all dances are pretty in Stella's opinion," Stella replied truthfully, her pinkish eyes twinkling.

Natarle sighed, massaging her temples and it was then that Lacus noticed the light bags under the woman's eyes. "Well I am terribly sorry my dear, but you won't be able to fit in enough time for all these classes. You'll need to at least cut this list down by a quarter, if not less," she placed the paper down, rapidly scribbling something onto it before sliding it into a folder and grabbing the next manuscript.

"Bu – mmph," Lacus quickly muffled Stella's childish protest while Natarle's head was down, quickly and quietly whispering into Stella's ear to listen 'just this once,' before returning to her previous, politely smiling state, as if she hadn't covered Stella's sulking mouth a second before Natarle's hat-clad head snapped up.

"Cagalli Hibiki. Sixteen, and a pursuit in acting or manager/agent/business activities," Natarle raised an eyebrow inquisitively, turning to the golden-eyed blonde in question; "You want to become a performer but also a manager?"

Cagalli shrugged, crossing her arms carelessly as she turned her golden gaze to admire an oil painting on the navy wall. "It's not like I'm actually that good at acting. Might as well have a back-up plan, right? Plus, to tell you the truth, I wanted to be a successful CEO of my own company one day, not some performer."

Natarle gave a curt nod, slipping the sheet into the same folder with Stella's after she had wrote something onto it with a solemn look. "Alright. I suppose that's a smart move on your part if you don't make it in the media."

Miriallia leaned in close to Cagalli, the closest girl near the blue-eyed brunette, and Lacus could only catch snippets of their whispered conversation. "… used to… actress… accident… love triangle…"

After the last bit, Lacus ignored the obvious gossip and faced the short-haired, lilac-eyed woman who had finally taken the last manuscript. Hers.

"Lacus Klein," she paused, "Odd. The name sounds awfully familiar," Lacus stiffened – as did the other two blondes – but silently released an inaudible sigh of relief as Natarle lightly shrugged, and continued on. "Seventeen, also a junior and pursuing vocal training, hip-hop dance and musical theatre," the short-haired woman nodded in approval, "Good choices. I assume you want to become an idol?"

Lacus's automatic reply would have been to politely say, 'no,' but unknown words deep down suddenly spilled from her mouth. "Yes, I've liked – no, _loved_singing since I was young."

Natarle's vividly coloured lips twitched slightly, almost showing a ghost of a smile. "That's the spirit," and suddenly, something flashed through her lilac orbs, as if a light bulb had lit up behind her eyes, and a real smile suddenly appeared. "Actually… it might work. But no," she turned her head to Cagalli and continued her slight mumbling. "We still haven't heard yet… hmmm."

"Haven't what?" Lacus voiced out.

Natarle turned to her, as if seeing the pink-haired woman for the first time, and smiled falsely.

"Oh it doesn't matter right now." Natarle took the Lacus's paper, scribbled a sentence or two, and then took the tan-coloured folder with their pictures and information in them and gently handed it to Miriallia. "I've assigned Loussier-san, Hibiki-san and Klein-san to your side of the dormitory, Moon Hall, Miss Haw," she took up her blue ball-point pen and engrossed herself in her pile of documents, lowering her head to break of all eye-contact, "Dismissed."

Miriallia practically squealed as she turned to the girls. "Yes! I don't have to bunk with just Shiho as my only friend anymore!" she whirled onto the three with a _tad _too much positive bubbliness. "We are going to have _so _much fun, now that you three have come along! Shiho's all too doom-and-gloom serious about everything, like some sort of _soldier_, so it'll be awesome to have girls to act the princess, queen and…," she faltered, before a quick, weak smile graced her lips, "…knight," she managed quickly, but not fast enough it seemed, as she turned to an already fuming Cagalli.

"What did you say?"

"Errr, well, you can be a pretty princess too!"

"Like hell I'll be a princess!"

"Okay, okay, you can also be a gentle queen then."

Miriallia slowly backpedalled from the nearly exploding Cagalli – if Lacus didn't know better, she'd have thought smoke was coming out of the blonde's ears – and suddenly Miriallia's smile reached from ear-to-ear now. Cagalli's scowled angrily and narrowed her amber eyes dangerously, sending an obvious subtext: _You are _so _dead._

But before she could state the impending threat, Miriallia immediately dashed out of the office.

Barely a second passed as the episode processed, and only then did Lacus blinked in realization that Cagalli had sprinted right after her, hot on the brunette's heels.

"Get back here you friggin' twit!"

"Catch me if ya can, Caggie!"

"Who the hell're you calling _Caggie_?"

Their garish and taunting shouts soon faded out, and it was evident that the duo had left the main building for who-knows-where in a cat and mouse chase. The pink-haired girl sighed with a shake of her pink-haired head. In the seventeen years and two months of her life, Lacus hadn't known anyone to have utterly riled up Cagalli like that. Even at their previous school, no one had had the guts to mock the woman, mainly because of her prickly personality. Lacus silently prayed that Cagalli would survive Miriallia's teasing for the next two years in the school.

"Wait…"

Lacus turned to Stella, who had spoken up rather oddly. The latter turned her big, magenta-hued eyes onto Lacus, and the pink-haired woman was quickly alarmed by the child-like blonde's worrying expression. What was wrong with her? Once Lacus's pale-blue gaze locked with Stella's pinkish-red ones, the comprehension finally dawned, and Lacus jaw slackened.

No, it couldn't be right. But, as Lacus thought it over for a moment, she figured this was either really bad karma - for what she had no clue - or the chaos theory.

Stupid fountain butterfly.

"Doesn't Miri have Stella's and Lala's identification folders?" Stella finally put out.

It wasn't a question, and she knew it.

Lacus had the urge to curl into a corner and weep.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**(22/04/12): **Okay everyone, I want _you _to decide whether I should jump to Cagalli's point of view, or if I should keep with Lacus and/or Stella. Hurry it up, since I'm going to be writing it up after I give you all two days to comment – oh, and I'll probably update this story in two weeks, or less, per chapter!

**PS: **Sorry for the malfunction yesterday. I've reposted this chapter now! (Please tell me if there are mistakes.)


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